On Nov 25, 11:57*am, stp wrote:
On Nov 24, 9:28*am, Tim wrote:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow...und-tuna-seize...

Not only did he get his fish confiscated, but will lose out on about
$400,000.00

All because it was caught in a net and not by a rod.

I don't have a lot of sympathy for the guy. First off they knew the
rules and everybody has to play by them. Second, that 400k dollar
figure quoted is a price paid for a very special high grade fish sold
at the Japanese market, not what was paid at the dock. Third, a fish
that died of exhaustion and was dragged dead for hours would have
flesh that would be all "burned up" and not worth that much. They
really need to be bled while the heart is still pumping. *Also, I
think it took them a couple of days to get to the dock after they
landed it. A $400k fish caught here today would be up for auction in
Japan tomorrow.

I think I read that the boat owner was complaining that he bought tuna
permits for all his boats and was threatening to cancel them. Big
deal, they cost $20 each, the same price I pay for my recreational
angling class HMS permit. I'm sure that they had rod and reel gear on
board just in case they came accross a school of busting bluefin. As
for poking a hole in the fish's mouth and saying they caught it on a
hook, after two hours in a net the Fed's could easily tell by the
condition of the fish that it was in a net. There is no permit
available for BFT trawl fishing.

I've only tried targeting BFT for the last two years. We have had a
couple of hook ups but haven't landed one yet. I've seen a few other
boats land giants and it is exciting, listening to the chatter on the
VHF then seeing the fish go into the boat.

The NMFS closed the rec fishery for GBFT back in July, meaning I
couldn't keep anything over 59" which is roughly 125lbs. Any BFT that
I catch I'm not allowed to sell and the rule is enforced with steep
penalties.

While we have been fishing for BFT every one of us has caught our
personal record Striped Bass. Guess what? Since we were outside the
three mile limit and in Federal waters we were required to throw them
back!

Well, no one is sympathizing with the guy with exception that he
caught such a huge fish (the wrong way) and couldn't keep it.